Moments of insecurity
by Artificial Starlight
Summary: Hidan wants a date with no mission related themes, but Kakuzu has a reason why he may not be able to give Hidan that satisfaction. Rated for Hidan's language, of course.


**See You**

It started as a somewhat normal day for the two immortal partners; Pein had sent them out on a target retrieval since it is what they were most good at. Kakuzu, being the silent type he was walked a few steps in front of his loud mouthed partner Hidan, pointedly ignoring any and all threats and complaints sent his way. "I'm hungry" and "I'm tired" were some of the few sentences filtered through the man's mind when he tried to tune out the rambling. Absentmindedly, Kakuzu answered with the usual, "Shut up, Hidan." Which would bring a new spout of curses from the silver haired immortal behind him.

"But Kakuzu, we've been walking forever, can't we take a fucking break for five minutes?"

"No," He replied, seeing as how the sun was going down quicker than he expected. It was only another thirty minutes to the village and after that it would only take another thirty to get capture their target and get back out. Luckily, their bounty wasn't a hard one at all; a kid actually. The son of a prestigious ANBU captain who, for the next month, would be out of town on a mission, trying to find the Akatsuki base. Pein usually didn't say why he needed these people out of the way but it was no secret that they needed the ANBU team off their back; the less ninjas after them the better. What would get the message across better than going straight to the heart of the problem? Take off the head of the snake and it dies. Taking the son of that captain would show the team that the Akatsuki were not to be taken lightly and give a warning to everyone else to keep their nose out of their business.

Pein didn't want the kid to die just yet though and so, he sent the two men who almost specialized in bounty hunting and would be able to retrieve the boy easily. Now, if only Hidan would stop complaining! "Hidan! Shut up," He yelled just as they walked into the gates of the village.

"You shut up, I'm fucking hungry, lets stop and eat before we get the kid okay?"

Kakuzu growled, "No."

"Oh, come on, I know we have enough money; that bounty we hit last week was enough to sustain us for at least a month, let's splurge a little!"

"If you want food so bad go pick it up! I'll get the kid and meet you outside the gate."

"But that defeats the purpose of going _out_ to eat, I wanna eat in a restaurant!"

Kakuzu sighed and cursed his choice in partners, one that couldn't be killed. "I said no, I will not repeat it again," He said in a low voice that just dared Hidan to try again, Kakuzu did not do restaurants! He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a small wad of money, counting carefully to make sure it was still the right amount from when he counted it this morning. He handed it over hesitantly, "Just pick up something. Make _sure_ you get the right change back. And bring me the receipt."

Hidan nodded, a little disappointed and walked into the crowd of people. The silver haired man knew that asking him to eat out may have been a little too much to ask but he was starting to feel a little left out and ignored. Kakuzu ignored him all the time, but it was different somehow. The two partners had been in a state of restlessness around each other for over a month now. It was hard to explain but they both knew that what they felt for each other was not just a platonic partnership but something more.

Hidan wanted a relationship, he really did, and he knew that Kakuzu wasn't uncaring and emotionless like everyone else believed him to be. He also knew that the other wanted something more as well from his actions and words; after all, Hidan was the only one he trusted enough to let his guard down for the amounts of time only they were together. Kakuzu would even touch him unnecessarily at times, like when they were walking down the abandoned trail on the way to the village, Kakuzu had brushed his hand over the religious man's mouth to shut him up once. Of course, Hidan would initiate most of the contact between the two but he didn't really mind, it only made things feel even more special when his partner returned the favors.

Then there were times when there would be only one room available in an inn and they would have to share a single bed; Kakuzu would openly let Hidan lay with him, sprawled out on his stitched up chest, mask off and social barriers down. They would talk well into the night, which was quite surprising considering Kakuzu was relatively quiet and reserved during the day. Hidan would joke and laugh and he would burn the image into his mind of his partner doing the same, only in a much lesser degree of course.

One wouldn't be able to call them lovers for that wasn't what they were, to tell the truth, neither of them had gone passed the "second base" as some would call it. No sex, just a contentment to be together, in each other's company. Just touches, just kisses; and they liked it that way. Perhaps, when their relationship had grown they would take another step but for now they were happy as they were; arguing like a married couple, getting on the others nerves, and doing what they could to shape one another into who they wanted to be.

Hidan was happy the way they were; however, there sere times when Hidan wanted to take a break and go on a _date_, like a normal couple. Nowadays it seemed that the closest thing he got to a romantic dinner was take out by the fire soaked in blood from their latest kill. He knew he was exaggerating, of course he wasn't going to be able to get that perfect dinner one would see in the movies, and although Kakuzu was more human than anybody else believed him to be, he didn't do romantic. They were members of the Akatsuki, killers, there was no romance in their relationship. While Hidan wasn't exactly looking for that special dinner he did want an actual known date, one that was in no way linked to work for once. Was that too much to ask? Did that even make sense?

He sighed as he walked into a small, Italian restaurant, and asked for two 'to go' meals for both of them. It took a few minutes and the religious man wasted time by people watching; mainly the couple three seats down. They were laughing together, holding hands under the table and flirting shamelessly. Too flashy for Hidan's tastes and he knew Kakuzu would never be that open but he thought it would be nice. At least the holding hands part would be, then he could let everyone know that Kakuzu was his and that he was Kakuzu's. Everyone would be jealous that he had such a great partner!

Lost in thought, he was shaken from his somber mood by that bag of food being waved in his face. He payed, counted the change (Kakuzu wouldn't tolerate any rip off artists) and kept the receipt, turning to make his way to the gates they had came through. The sun had set and darkness was covering the village, only held back by the building and roadside lights but as he got to the gate and left the buildings behind he was surrounded in it.

Outside the village, in the pitch black night Hidan found Kakuzu waiting a little ways up the road holding what seemed to be a ten year old kid, unconscious, over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The two started to jog, using chakra to boost their speed and put some distance between themselves and the village. A few miles out they stopped for the night and set up camp in the forest, knowing it would be best to stay away from any other villages when they had a captive. Silently, Kakuzu counted the money Hidan had returned to him and nodded in approval when it matched the payment on the receipt. Then, the two men started to eat, Hidan asking about how the mission went, if there were any ANBU, did he miss any action, and Kakuzu calmly answered his questions, speaking in a monotone voice.

It was normal for them to converse like this during their meals but this time, things went a little bit differently, starting when the kid woke up. The boy, from his position a few feet away looked around confused before landing his eyes on the unmasked Kakuzu.

He screamed.

His arms were tied behind his back with Kakuzu's special chakra induced threads as were his feet but the boy scooted away, trying with all his might to run from the man who captured him. "Disgusting son of a bitch, get away from me! Untie me, you freak!"

That was a mood killer and Hidan, who didn't miss the small glint of a flinch in his partner's eyes felt his anger boil. "Shut up you little shit! Sit down before I cut your stupid legs off! Where do you get off-"

His rant was cut short by Kakuzu who stood up, pulling his mask up over the bottom of his face with practiced movements before reaching over to the boy (who screamed bloody murder) grabbing, his bound legs and pulling him back over to the captors. Everything was quiet for a few moments when the man let go and walked over to a tree, jumping up to a relatively high branch and settling in for the night, looking to go to sleep. Hidan wasn't fooled, he sent a glare that made the kid tremble all over before standing up to talk to his partner.

Up in the tree Kakuzu gave a little room for Hidan to sit beside him. Hidan reached down and took the mans hand in his own, starting to rant a little. "Little shit, I'd sacrifice him to Jashin-sama if Pein didn't want him alive. He had no right."

"Shut up, Hidan." It was the regular response he got when complaining but it sounded forced which only made Hidan worry more.

He sighed, leaning his body against the stitched man's side absentmindedly noting how warm he was, "Why do they have to say things like that? It's so stupid."

"People are afraid of things they don't understand. I'm a freak, that's all I am to them."

"You are not!" Kakuzu gave a little snort. "Kakuzu, you are not a freak. You look different, so what, If I didn't have the ability to heal all my wounds I'd look the same. Besides, come on, my head fucking comes off! If you're a freak, then so am I!"

"But I'm stuck with this body; disgusting, scarred, disfigured. I can't go out in a village like you can, I scare people. I can't go out on dates like you want us to, Hidan. People would scream and run away, it doesn't make for a relaxed setting."

Hidan looked shocked for a moment, "You think I care about that? It's the memory of being with your dumb ass that counts. Besides, the more people you scare away the less morons we have to deal with." Kakuzu didn't look convinced. "The only thing I regret is the fact that nobody else can see you the way I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're fucking amazing, Kakuzu. People don't see what I see; they don't see how awesome of a partner you are, how great of a lover you are, you're cute obsession with money, the way you will never leave me and die- everything! They don't see that, they don't even try! But you- I want you to know that I'm fucking proud to call you my partner Kakuzu. In everything that we do, I want to hold your hand and walk down the street with a smile, I'll watch them run away and laugh my ass off because they have no idea what they are missing."

For the first time since they started to talk, Kakuzu looked up to Hidan, he didn't answer; had nothing to say to that. Emotion hit him hard, appreciation for what his partner said sinking into his skin and lifting his worries. Hidan smiled and lifted his free hand, the one that wasn't holding onto the other's, he pushed away the top of Kakuzu's mask, freeing the dark hair it covered and letting it fall into the man's face. Then, with slow movements, he pulled down the bottom half of the cloth, revealing the deep stitches embedded in the man's cheeks. It was a little discolored, skin reddened from the pull of the stitches and dark, almost black near the punctures. A pale hand ran across the thread, as if it was the first time seeing them. He had touched them once or twice but never paid so much attention to their detail. They were perfect lines, up and down, made with precision only Kakuzu could possess. They weren't the nicest thing to look at of course but Hidan felt that they were meant to be there, Kakuzu wouldn't be Kakuzu if he did not have the scars of his past battles. "I love them, Kakuzu," Hidan heard himself whisper. "And that's all that should matter right?"

The man in question finally nodded, giving a slight smile, "If you still want to, we can go out to eat after we drop off the brat tomorrow."

With that, Hidan's smile grew to a grin and he leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on his partner's lips, "Hell yeah! Now come on, lets go scare the kid till he shits his pants, that should prove to be fun."

Kakuzu shook his head, a smirk gracing his lips. He jumped out of the tree, watching Hidan pull the captive from the bushes in which he had slid into while they were talking. "Jashin-sama won't be able to save you now," He yelled in a dark voice, waving his three bladed scythe around, the kid screamed and started to cry, yelling for his mother. Kakuzu sat down by the fire they had started earlier that night, watching with amusement in his eyes as the child hopped around the camp, scrambling away from the religious, loud mouthed man. The kid took a dive to miss a swing and landed next to the stitched together man, the breath was knocked from his lungs which gave Hidan time to step on his back. "Now, you should apologize to my partner for those mean things you said. Repeat after me, I'm sorry Kakuzu-san, I didn't mean what I said, those stitches make you look sexy."

With a sharp kick between the boy's shoulder blades the boy started to mumble the words. Hidan's smile got wider, "So sexy, that I'd bang your ass any day." Kakuzu's eyes widened and the boy whimpered before repeating Hidan's sentence. The silver haired man let him up but then promptly sat in Kakuzu's lap. "Too bad you can't have him though, I claimed the fucker already," He said, proving it with a kiss to the still unmasked face.

The man just grumbled, wrapping a single arm loosely around the Jashinist's waist. With the other arm, he reached to the kid and roughly hit him at the neck, knocking him out for at least a couple of hours. Hidan laughed and pushed at the man's shoulders, sending him to the ground, following with a harsh kiss that clearly said, "No more fucking stalling".

... BONUS ...

Kakuzu didn't give Hidan any money if he could avoid it and so, when the two went out on their "date", to the local movie theater, Kakuzu volunteered to get the popcorn and drinks. He met back with Hidan in front of the doors to the movie room showing "10,000 BC". The two Akatsuki members had left their cloaks in the hotel room they were staying at along with Hidan's scythe; they were donning regular clothes, well, except for Kakuzu who still wore long sleeves and the bottom part of his mask. Their crossed out headbands were a missing ninja give-away and were left at the hotel room as well. They were two regular teens on a date; no mission, and no fighting.

Sitting in the back, near the door for paranoia reasons, the two slowly munched on the popcorn (the lights were down so Kakuzu pulled down the mask), whispering to each other while they waited for the movie to start. "I'm so excited, I've wanted to see this movie for a while! Thank you Kakuzu!"

The man beside him grunted and popped another piece of buttery goodness in his mouth, "I like this stuff, its been such a long time since I've had popcorn."

"I know, hell, its been a long time since I've gone to a movie theater," Hidan exclaimed, obviously happy at the moment. Just then, the lights grew even dimmer and the previews started, the two settled down and Hidan wiggled his arm into Kakuzu's.

two hours later

"That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen! The timing was all fucked up! Pyramids weren't built during that time! The oldest pyramid was built in 3200 BC! Where the fuck do they get their information from?"

The stitched man beside him nodded in agreement as they walked out of the screened room. "People were not so helpless during that time, they had ways of living, I knew one warrior who took on a 'saber tooth' as they call it, and live... they took baths too."

"Ha! Mortals. Always getting things messed up, huh?"

Kakuzu smirked under his mask, "That's what we get for being immortal bastards."

"I say fuck this theater, lets go back to killing."

"Agreed." Hidan, smiled at that, leaning over and kissing the man's cloth covered cheek, taking Kakuzu's arm and slinging it over his shoulder, fitting his body perfectly against his partners.

And so, they left behind a really confused group of teenagers who had accidentally over heard their conversation and an old lady giggling at their public display of affection. Needless to say, they never took a date to the movie theaters again.

... **Author's note** ...

Hey guys, I know I'm supposed to be updating my story but this was a one shot that just wouldn't get out of my head so here it is! Reviews are appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters nor do I own the anime they are from.


End file.
